Chapter 8: The Task
Mario approached the weapon shelf and snatched a 9mm revolver. He loaded it quickly and stuck it in his pocket. Ducky.10 sat at his desk, smoking a cigar peacefully. He puffed the remaining smoke from his mouth and threw the cigar away. "I estimate you are nervous of Luigi's capture, are you not?" he asked Mario.
Mario closed his eyes and muttered, "Yes."
Ducky.10 got up from his desk and stepped towards Mario. He stood there, smirking at him.
"I remember something before I fell unconcious," Mario replied.
Ducky.10 grinned, his face slowly forming into a curious frown.
"Oh? And what did you remember?" he asked.
"I remember... I remember Oddball saying something about a clone... That's it," Mario told him.
Mario turned to Ducky.10, who was glaring at the weapon shelf. He then turned his attention to Mario, still staring at him. Ducky then pulled a gun from his pocket and shot. Mario assumed the shot was directed at him, so he ducked. However, Mario rose from the ground only to realize that the shot was directed at the target over in the far corner.
"Mario," Ducky said to Mario, "I have a task for you."
"Anything that involves kicking Oddball's butt," Mario replied.
"Then you're in luck. I guarentee this task will be the most difficult and dangerous you will ever experience."
"Sounds fun," Mario said. "Nothing pleases me more than Oddball's misery. Let's hear the task, Ducky."
"I desperately recommend some of my gadgets for this mission. But onto the explanation: I need you to track down Oddball's base. I have encountered this tyrant before, and he CAN be stopped. First, target his brothers, Tenk and Bertram."
"But how will I find the base?" Mario interrupted.
"Like I said, I have encountered Oddball before. Did you see that scar on his left eye trailing down his cheek?"
"Yeah."
"That's what I did to him. I shot at him, but the bullet only grazed his face with gun powder, causing it to rip skin off his face. It then was infected, causing a scar."
"But what does that have to do with tracking him down?" Mario asked.
Ducky.10 grinned. "Before he fell to the ground," he said, "I attached a tracking device into the pocket of his shirt. In fact, it just so happens I have a tracker right here."
Ducky then pulled the tracker from his pocket. He handed it to Mario, who took it.
"Follow that tracker's signals and soon you will find Oddbal'ds base. If you lose your way, here's a watch communicator."
He handed it to Mario, who clipped it to his wrist. He then gave Ducky.10 a thumbs up. Ducky smiled and pointed to the door.
"Now go rescue the kingdom, hero boy."
Chapter 9: Commotion at the Castle
As Mario slowly made his way to Peach's castle, his wound began to throb. He fell to his knees and clenched his arm. He was in great pain, seeing as his wound had not been treated yet. He slowly got to his feet and continued onward.
He approached the door and knocked several times. Toad opened the door, greeted Mario, and showed him in. Mario then followed him to the table and the feast began. "Peach" sat at a thone, from the end of the table. Mario stared at Peach for what seem like hours until she glared at Mario. Mario then placed his attention toward something else. Suddenly, something caught his eye.
His eyes wandered around Peach's left shoulder. He stared at a strange marking. The marking looked like a scar, but was camoflauged by the bright pink color of her dress. Mario then excused himself from the table and left into the corridor. Then, almost immediately, he heard a noise.
He thrashed his head around and glared at every door. Nothing was seen. Mario then continued. Something was stalking him... what could it be? Mario then heard it again. He turned yet again. Nothing. Little did he know of the top-hatted Troopa hanging by the chandelier.
"Peekaboo! I'll KILL YOU!"
Mario then glared up. Before he could muster a scream, Bertram flung himself and his umbrella at the marvel. Mario took the blow and fell to the ground. "Unngh..." he groaned.
"What's the matter?" Bertram asked, laughing. "Did I smack you too hard? Allow me to make it up to you. You get a 15-second getaway. Run. NOW."
Mario stared at Bertram as though he had ripped out his own heart and torn it. The countdown began. Mario ran, through the right corridor. But as soon as he had flung himself through the door, Bertram snickered and loaded his UZI. He then made his way through the same corridor, but saw Mario nowhere. He fired several times to alert any nearby guests.
He then pulled out his walkie-talkie and began to communicate with Tenk. "Yes. Tenk? I need you to do one teency weency favor."
And with that comment, the doors to the castle exploded open. Thick, black smoke emerged from the broken door, and through it, emerged Tenk, clenching a rocket launcher.
"DIDJA MISS ME?!"
While Mario hid
in a secluded part of the castle, he found a small hatch in the floor.
Curiously, he opened it, revealing a stock room. Mario slid down the stairs
and found bookcases and statues of the fair princess herself. Mario then
happened upon a strange note...
Chapter 10: Deadly Diary
9:00 PM
Once again, I have failed. Bowser has almost had enough. I failed numerous times and am a disgrace to the Koopa Troop. I was then punished in an extremely barbaric manner. After many failures, Bowser had enough. He now has utterly ruined my life.
3:30 AM
Horrifying. Horrific. Gorey. These are just mere words to explain what my punishment was. He dismantled my right arm until it could no longer remain attached. Yes, I have now lost my arm. My brother and I finally created an artificial arm.
7:54 PM
Finally, I have concocted a plan to dispose of the Brothers Mario once and for all. I conveniently placed Bob-ombs in their house, and shall despo... (trails off)
Oh my god! Bowser is here and has a new punishment in store for me. I have now locked myself in the library. I should be safe.
3:00 AM
My hands are now covered in blood. Bowser busted the door down and summoned his troops. I have now lost my right leg. The pain is unimaginable. Bertram has now found me. My artificial leg project was a success. However, I am now terminated from the Koopa Troop. Oh, how I wish to dispose of the Brothers Mario! Dreams are nothing more than wishes. And in my case, those wishes shall never come.
Mario stood in horror as he finished the note. Obviously, this has been written by Oddball. Suddenly, footsteps were heard. Bertram was standing in the doorway. Mario glared at him.
"I see you've found my brother's diary," he said. "Too bad you'll never live to even speak one word of this incident."
"Don't count on it, Bertram," Mario barked. "Remember, the run is still on."
"Oh, yes. I almost forgot," Bertram said while gripping his UZI. "Now where were we? Ah, yes. DIE!!!" He then fired rapidly at Mario. Mario ducked down behind a bookself, witnessing a bullet zoom past his right ear. The barrage of bullets continued to be shot, with almost no end. Mario then noticed a statue of himself in the far corner. He snatched it and slid it acros the floor, and it immediately caught Bertram's attention. He then thought it was Mario, and fired non-stop until he noticed the sand pour from the remains.
"Shoot. Stupid statue. You'll have to do better than that!" Bertram cursed.
"We'll see!" Mario shot back. Mario then remembered one of the gadgets Ducky had given to him. He only found a watch. He then pressed a button on it, revealing it was not just a watch, but a hookshot! Mario then dashed to the window and smashed it. He shot the hook tower to tower and swung across.
Bertram approached
the window and screamed all the bloody curses circling his mind.
As Mario whipped through the sky, he turned to find the furious troopa cursing away. He grinned. "Right back atcha!" Mario spat.
Bertram blew his top. No longer would he stand for this. He fired rapidly at the rope. It snapped! Mario gasped in horror. He screamed as he fell. He grabbed onto a narrow ledge and was hanging. Perfect for a finale, I must say. Bertram snickered as he landed on a ledge as well. The plan was obvious. He woud stomp on Mario's hand until he lost his grip and fell to his utter demise.
Bertram hid his anger behind the grinding teeth in his horrific smile. "WELL, MARIO..." He giggled. "It looks like it's the end of the line for you. Any last requests?"
Mario looked down. He grinned. He looked back up at Bertram.
"Yup," Mario said.
"And that is...?"
"Look down," Mario replied.
Bertram looked down. He saw Tenk. Tenk noticed them, but only Mario. "I SEE YOU, MARIO!!!" he bellowed. "I'M GONNA BLAST YOU TO KINGDOM COME!!!"
Tenk prepared his rocket launcher. Bertram waved his arms frantically in the air, pleading for Tenk's attention.
"NO!!! YOU IMBECILE! DON'T SHOOT!!!"
The moment Tenk shot, he heard it. He looked up. "BERTRAM? UH OH."
KABOOM!!!
The smoke cleared. Bertram was lying on the ground, in a pile of rubble. He glared next to him. Mario was nowhere to be seen!
"TENK!!! YOU IMBECELIC DUNDERHEAD!!! I ALMOST HAD HIM AND HE'S GONE!!!" Bertram roared.
Tenk drooped his head. "I sorry..." he mumbled.
"Try saying that
to Oddball! He'll flip! He'll KILL US BOTH!"
Chapter 11: "Peach"'s Identity Revealed
At first blurry, his sight became clear. Mario stared upward. Peach was standing next to him. A large, crater-like hole nearly covered the wall next to him. He must have been blasted through the wall.
"P-Peach?" he asked. "I-is that..."
Before Mario finished his sentence, the princess picked him up by his collar and tossed him across the hall. He smacked into the concrete. Mario cried in pain. He slowly got to hs feet. "Just as I thought!" Mario said, stepping toward her. "YOU AREN'T PEACH AT ALL!"
Mario grabbed her face and pulled. It came off. He stared at the faceless Peach and saw nothing but machine. He stared, horrified. Mario roundhouse-kicked her. She fell over. She got up again. She then pushed Mario into the wall. Mario then realized he had more gadgets. He reached for his pocket of C4's. He activated them and tossed them at the robot as he dashed around the corner. There was a high-pitched "beep" and an eardrum-breakingly loud explosion echoed through every corridor.
Mario jumped into a nearby room. It was the room that Oddball had sought him in. He search the room for details. He found a bookcase.
He noticed a book out of order. Even though it was not the time to be social, he placed it normally.
Suddenly, the bookcase turned to reveal a cave-like door. Then, the pieces of the puzzle began to form together. The Peach clone was a distraction so Oddball would hide his base within the castle without attracting any attention! It all made sense. But why had he kidnapped Peach and Luigi? And why was he after Mario, too?
To Be Continued...
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